Well, yesterday wasn’t a quite so happy St. David’s Day. Royal Mail had chosen that date to announce postage rate rises to come into force on the 2nd April 2024. Knew in advance that the details were coming then. The rise is not just a penny here and there. Both 1st and 2nd class goes up 10p apiece.

International standard is up 30p. International economy up 20p. First + second still adds up to the first international economy/surface mail rate and can be used for post outside Europe. Some postcrossers have been using this economy rate and haven’t noticed longer delivery times. 

I haven’t watched the BBC Panorama programme on Royal Mail, about deliveries, lack of them coming daily for some, letters coming bundled up once or twice a week, or less frequently. I must be lucky my regular postie makes it to me mostly daily. He is a great postie, and would have been the only person some people saw during the pandemic. I don’t live that remotely, but I can imagine living up a country lane, neighbours out of sight, a postie delivering mail and making sure I’m OK. A regular postie is a wonderful thing; almost a community service, a Postman Pat!, a community “warden” of sorts. 

I managed to speak to my postie this week. He had so many parcels to deliver first, before doing the letters. I’ve noticed he can deliver about 1100-1130 if he doesn’t have much in the way of parcels to do first, otherwise anytime after 12 to about 1pm. 

Royal Mail have said that most don’t spend more than £7 a year on stamped mail. I think some of my relatives are among those who don’t even spend that much… as they prefer to wish Happy Birthday to relatives on Facebook whether or not the birthday person is on Facebook. “Happy Birthday to my great-grandson who is 11” and even those relatives who live nearby don’t even get a physical card. Christmas cards are all e-cards and I can’t stand these. An in-law prefers to phone and chat for a while instead of a card (the cards don’t say much, no words of news/encouragement/stories). 

I also haven’t finished watching the Horizon Post Office scandal docu-drama. Llandudno is up near me!

Just over halfway

Half way into February and it feels like any other month. It shouldn’t as February is A Month of Letters & International Correspondence Writing Month. I have been doing both since year dot, yet this is the first time I am not shouting from the rooftops about these projects. Maybe I am burned out from having very little acknowledgement to all the surprise letters I have sent out through the February projects. Maybe also I am at my limit for the number of penpals I feel I can handle. I know Incowrimo and LetterMo aren’t necessarily about finding long-term correspondence, and there is joy to receiving great one-off missives however most of those seem to go unthanked. However, this year, there seems to be more people looking for penpal, but I’m not one of them, which makes a change as I’ve previously always hoped to find penfriends through these February projects.  I have written a few surprises though.

With the revamp of the LetterMo site, I’m having to remember who my friends are! I have stressed I’m not seeking new long-term penpals (but perhaps there can be exceptions), however have accepted a few perhaps one-off requests. Indeed have received a couple of letters I am very much looking forward tor replying. One of the letters received is a reconnect after a break of so many years, connection started way back during my first LetterMo of 2012! One reconnection this year through Incowrimo after a few years is due to illness/stuff.

So, I shall be heading up to my archives to look for the letters from these 2 "old" correspondents and putting those letters into my active letter storage.

I had been thinking about culling some of the early one-letter wonders; those received over 10 years ago, but haven’t led to anything. I know correspondence can peter out even after a few letters but there was something in them that kept it going a little while. I am not one to always follow up after months of expecting a reply to come. I know life/events get in the way and maybe a follow-up missive can put pressure on them/make them feel guilty about “being a bad penpal.”

It can feel somewhat odd: to connect not only via letters, but also to follow on social media, online groups/messageboards, and online live events possibly via Zoom! I keep missing (forgetting/not realising) the online letter socials. I do quite like seeing penpals’ posts on social media/messageboards, even if it is just to say that they are still kicking, or say something that would explain why they might be slower than usual in replying to letters.

It is nearly February, and yet...

I am not as enthusiastic as I usually am at this time of year for the February letter writing "madness" - the letter writing projects A Month of Letters (LetterMo), and International Correspondence Writing Month (InCoWriMo). Maybe as I've been taking part in these from 2012, and am, I dunno, a little disappointed that out of so many of the 300+ people I've written to through these February projects, just shy of 50 have led to longer more meaningful correspondence (although some of those have faded away - one through moving, another through a not-great-postal service...), with over half of that 300+ having not responded at all.

Perhaps I should stop putting my heart & soul into these surprise letter. Should I do the equivalent of the bare minimum seen over at Postcrossing where the sender has, other than the address & postcard ID, only written, "Happy Postcrossing" and write nothing else? NO - because I wouldn't be "happy" to receive that outside of Postcrossing. Send the sort of thing you are happy to receive! It doesn't have to be much... e.g.

Seeing as you wrote that you like cats, I saw this cat card and thought you might like it. I hope you are well. Take care...

Even something as brief as that says something. 

And then there are those who write their entire biography/family history, with names of pets, siblings, parents, aunts/uncles, children, work history: all about them, perhaps even all printed out with very little to hook you into replying, or with generic questions you've already given answers to in an incowrimo disqus comment they'd have seen to get your address. I know, I'll send some of my favourite meat recipes to everyone I choose to write to, even if they've stated in their address/profile post that they are vegan!! 

So, I have not put my address up this time. However, it is up on LetterMo (restricted access), but I'm having to decline a few requests. I'm not sure if everyone actually reads the profiles of those requesting friendship (access for the postal address) as I've noticed one profile seeking addresses for someone incarcerated (written backwards and in background colour so to read, you need to highlight, for the crimes of: yhpargonrop dlihc, esuba xes dlihc according to a prisoner penpal site he has a profile on) has over 60 "friends" on the LM site.

2024 starts with no Old Spice!

So, Royal Mail have finally announced their 2024 stamp programme, although images of the Spice Girls stamps appeared on ebay last month. 

11 Jan - Spice Girls

1 Feb - Weather Forecasting (170th anniversary of the Meteorological Office, and also the centenary of the Shipping Forecast)

20 Feb - Viking Britain (Jorvik Centre in York opened 40 years ago this year)

12 March - Age of the Dinosaurs

16 April - 100 Years of Commemorative Stamps

16 May - Peppa Pig (20 years of Peppa Pig!)

6 June - Dogs

20 June - Red Arrows-60th anniversary.

25 July - Dungeons & Dragons (wonder which will be better, RM's stamps or USPS's)

13 Aug - Tower of London

3 Sep - Porridge (the TV series, first aired in 1974)

26 Sep - Spiders

17 Oct - The Who

5 Nov - Christmas 2024

30 Nov - Winston Churchill

A mix of themes, but missing is a stamp set commemorating 200th anniversary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI), but other postal authorities are.

It is also the 200th anniversary of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), so wonder if that can be bundled in with the Dogs. 

Another 200th anniversary that could be celebrated is one for The National Gallery. 

I hoped there would be a nature/environmental theme, but hadn't expected Spiders. Also, the Europa theme this year is Underwater Flora & Fauna, so nothing here (though there is a diving bell spider).

I was hoping for Bagpuss, first aired in 1974. 

New Year, New Leaf

I'm feeling I need a change... a change of name for this blog. But what? Something with Missive, or Postal, or keep Letter, or Snail Mail... 

A couple of little rants....

I have been using the festive period to sort through old but not-continuing correspondence from over the last 16 years. One InCoWriMo, I received an introductory/generic letter, but it was from someone I had previously received an introductory/generic letter 3 years prior - am I that forgettable? As I was going through the letters, I realised I was also forgetful of some of the names I'd sent letters to, but also many I do remember. There was Katy in Israel in 2015 I had written to: one letter I wrote was being composed in a McDonald's and I had put sugar on my fries, instead of salt - at least edible; I doubt salt in a cuppa tea would be delicious! 

Many of the failed correspondences have come via the February letter writing projects. The idea is to write a letter every (postal) day that month. One of the projects says also to reply each letter/postcard you receive through the project. And that is where it falls down. So many letters - they can't have all gotten lost to/from me? There is a forum associated with that project and Disqus comments for one of the other February letter writing projects, so if you really don't want to write back, letter acknowledgement is possible. 

I do know I can't get on well with everyone, and penfriendship would not work with some people. Maybe there's also a time/moment issue -  you'll probably have a day here/there where you don't want to speak to a particular friend, but would be willing to catch up another time. 

Another little rant is postage... It ain't cheap, I get that. But I am less likely to respond / acknowledge a letter if it has insufficient postage from overseas. I don't know all the postal rates from overseas, but do know that ONE domestic FOREVER stamp from the US is not sufficient postage to pay for a letter INTERNATIONALLY. Do you really expect me to think that it costs the same to send something regardless of whether domestically (within your country) or internationally? 

Domestic forever valued postage stamp, of a volleyball

OK, perhaps one or two people new to snail mail or Postcrossing might not know any better, but there was one letter I received I  haven't acknowledged (not even in my correspondence diary, incoming mail list) with a postage label (presumably bought from a machine in the post office) for one cent (0.01 euro). Definitely am not surprised the sender decided not to use a return address on the envelope nor even in the letter itself (email address was provided). 

Deutsche Post postage label, for 1 euro cent

That is definitely wrong, and not a genuine mistake. Postage rate then I think was 1 Euro and 10 cents, DEFINITELY NOT ONE CENT ONLY, not mixed up in a postal rate change (as was the case this month, I received something with stamps adding up to 68p, which was the second class rate at the start of the year but now is 75p). Surprised Deutsche Post let this one through and postmarked it.

2023 almost at an end

Incowrimo - someone wrote in their address post about wanting long-term penpals, but although received a fair few letters, and replied, however none of the replies were responded to. The Feb projects do seem to have more participants only wanting a one-off letters. OK, there’s no contract to continue correspondence, nor to respond by the next day. Life/events do happen, and snail mail is a hobby, not a full time job with wages based on how many letters get written. This month, I received a letter in reply to an incowrimo missive I sent this February. Although it may be nice to receive letters sooner rather than later, late is better than even later/never!

I did throw my hat in the ring for the Feb letter projects but haven’t decided if I will participate in 2024. Early days. I am possibly at my limit of penfriendships I can manage in a timely manner (yes, I know what I wrote above, but I still would prefer to get replies out within a month of receipt). 

There were 2 postage rate rises. 1st class was 95p, then up to £1.10 and has finished the year on £1.25. 2nd class was 68p, now 75p but there’s rumours of it increasing more than by a few pennies next time. I am sending domestic post mostly by 2nd class post. International rates also increased, from £1.85 to £2.20 for airmail, and economy from £1.60 to £2 for letters outside of Europe. Royal Mail say that it is still offers good value, but putting £1.25 into a currency exchange, brings it out as more than the price of a global forever stamp from the USPS. 

On the stamps front, Royal Mail changed the silhouettes over in March for the Flowers issue. QEII’s last silhouette was on The Flying Scotsman issue. I like the flowers, and am finding it psychologically difficult to use them for postage, and same also for Discworld. There have been some curious values of stamps issued. £2 is OK, as that is the international surface mail rate, but £1… what is that? Half-way between 2nd and 1st class! The stamps celebrating the coronation were uninspiring. I don’t really know what Royal Mail is playing at. 

We approach the end of the year and we are none the wiser for next year’s stamp calendar. Deutsche Post’s was up by the end of May. USPS end of October with more issues announced later. Stamp dealers get advanced news but they can’t say have agreements with embargo dates perhaps lifted just under a week before the stamps’ issue. Less than a week, well, how can I plan which stamps I want to buy? As a stamp user, I need to know what values the stamps are, as well as the themes. 

Then there’s been the debacle over non-barcoded ordinary stamps. Those just with the Queen’s head, or country icons for the country definitives. Stamps Royal Mail have supplied in their exchange scheme, when used, some have been marked as counterfeit/fake, and others that are fake/counterfeit/used have been let through as OK. A right Royal (!) Fail.